Wrongway crash on I-45 snarls traffic, injures woman

Published 1:33 pm, Saturday, October 17, 2015

A man was arrested Saturday morning after driving the wrong way on I-45, crashing into a woman and injuring her and snarling traffic for hours.

Houston Police Department spokesman John Cannon said the incident occurred on I-45 near the Houston Avenue exit around 3:15 a.m., when a 20-year-old man drove a red Toyota pickup south in the northbound lanes.

The driver, identified as Eros Lemus smashed into a 24-year-old woman driving a black Ford Focus on the Pierce Elevated over Memorial Drive.

Lemus tried to flee the scene but was taken into custody, Cannon said.

"Thankfully the female in the Focus did not die," Cannon said, explaining that she was taken to Ben Taub General Hospital. Doctors said she likely has a broken him and a small fracture in her neck, Cannon said.

Footage of I-10 closed and the trafficGodofredo Vasquez, Houston Chronicle

North Texas storms continueFox4

AT&T Names First Cities to Get 5G NetworkWibbitz

Bridging police & young minority studentsFox 26 Houston

The 'Black Panther' effectFox 26 Houston

100 Boys March against violenceFox 26 Houston

Isiah Factor Uncensored celebrates crawfish seasonFox 26 Houston

NASA engineer approved for proton therapyFox 26 Houston

10 p.m. Feb. 20 FOXRAD ForecastFox 26 Houston

The wreck and subsequent gridlock stymied rescue efforts by some first responders for about half an hour, according to the Montgomery County Police Reporter, and closing the road for hours as police cleared the scene.